Education Issues

Sex and drugs at Colorado Senate today

Want evidence of just how colorful Colorado has become? Stop by the Colorado Senate this morning, where two big bills will be considered. One, calling for new sex education standards, shows how very blue the Colorado Legislature is these days, The second, HB 13-1061, which would set standards for "r ... More >>

Jim Griffin, Colorado charter school leader, inducted into Charter Schools Hall of Fame

Jim Griffin, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, has been inducted into the Charter Schools Hall of Fame. "Colorado has been on the forefront of our nation's charter school movement and has provided other states with examples of how strong policies and effective leadership can ha ... More >>

Denver Public Schools vs. the State Board of Education over a Montessori school

Abstinence pays off for Joneen Mackenzie and the Center for Relationship Education

​The February 26 Denver Post featured a lengthy article on Joneen Mackenzie and how she became a crusader for abstinence education -- a crusade she leads through her Center for Relationship Education, which is funded by a pair of grants, including one approved by the Colorado Board of Educatio ... More >>

Illiterate's Adam Gildar goes solo in a new chapter for Denver arts

Adam Gildar, Westword MasterMind (Class of 2011), is having a hard time getting used to saying "I" rather than "we" when speaking about happenings at his South Broadway gallery: Formerly known as Illiterate and managed by three partners including Gildar, it's now re-entering the art-scene fray as Gi ... More >>

Ethan Hemming named executive director of Charter School Institute

Ethan Hemming, charter school whiz and former interim executive director of the Charter School Institute, is no longer interim. The institute's board of directors has made him the official executive director and head of an organization in the process of righting itself after several things went wron ... More >>

Colorado's charter school law slips from fourth to seventh in new national ranking

​Colorado is seventh in the nation when it comes to the quality of its charter school laws, according to a ranking released today by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. That's actually a downgrade from last year, when Colorado ranked fourth in the country. Why the slip? The folks ... More >>

Charter schools: State Board of Ed approves non-mandatory standards for authorizers

Update: The State Board of Education has approved new standards for charter school authorizers -- the school districts and one quasi-state agency that approve new charter schools. But the standards aren't mandatory. As the Colorado Department of Education's Amy Anderson tell us, state board members ... More >>

Behold Adams County, the "unquestioned epicenter of ethics problems"

Charter School Institute adds ninth board member: Liz Aybar, former principal at P.S. 1

The Charter School Institute board is once again complete. Last week, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed a ninth member: Liz Aybar, who once served as principal of the now-shuttered P.S. 1 Charter School in Denver. Aybar and the other eight board members have their work cut out for them, as explai ... More >>

Charter school enrollment grows nationwide and in Colorado, which now has 82,200 students

Flickr​Enrollment in charter schools is growing nationwide, as well as here in Colorado. More than two million students now attend charter schools in the U.S., a 13 percent increase from last year, according to numbers released today by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Colorad ... More >>

Charter school chief rules with iron fist, say teachers

Life Skills Center: DPS board votes to shutter alternative school, which vows to appeal

​ This year may be the last for the Life Skills Center, a last-chance high school that Westword profiled in 2007. Last night, the Denver Public Schools board voted to shutter the struggling alternative charter school, which had been given a second chance in 2008 after facing the same fate.

Reader: Judge Michael Martinez is a hero for stopping Dougco school voucher program

Martinez.​Judge Michael A. Martinez's ruling that stopped a Douglas County school voucher program has been controversial in some quarters, with the families of impacted students frequently casting blame on plaintiffs behind the lawsuit in question. But a longtime critic of the voucher plan has ... More >>

Abstinence-only funding was refused, but that didn't stop a state school-board member

Jolly Bad Omens

MasterMind: Illiterate/Adam Gildar

Michael Bennet dubbed powerful education force by Time magazine

Michael Bennet.​"School of Thought: 11 Education Activists for 2011," just published by Time magazine, contains some predictable names (Michelle Rhee) and some surprising ones (Jeb Bush?). But the highest ranking elected official cited is Senator Michael Bennet, who's been getting a gusher of ... More >>

Reader: Sex ed must go beyond condoms to take on STDs, "hormonal upheaval" of abortion

​Reporter Melanie Asmar's recent post juxtaposing abstinence education versus what she termed more "realistic" sex ed drew a passionate response from one reader. She feels the question should go well beyond whether or not instructors will still be able to use bananas and condoms.

Sex ed: Will talk of condoms be banned if state wins $3.2 million abstinence education grant?

To teach it or not to teach it?​ The Republican-heavy state Board of Education is going after a $3.2 million abstinence-only education grant that Governor Bill Ritter's administration passed up in favor of a $3.9 million grant that pays for sex ed that teaches kids about birth control, too. So ... More >>

Denver Public Schools debate how to teach kids to avoid the clap

From zazzle.com​ On Thursday night, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education will talk about sex, baby. More specifically, they'll talk about sex ed -- and how it's important that teenagers with raging libidos "have access to science-based, comprehensive, medically-accurate, culturally r ... More >>

Art Is As Art Does

Cesar Chavez Charter Schools: Giving school choice an even lousier name

Lawrence Hernandez likes to eat out, and likes you to pay for it.​Every week we introduce you to one of life's biggest shmucks. Our latest: the Cesar Chavez Schools network. Since they began gaining steam in the late-90s, charter schools -- those independent public schools whose freedom from ... More >>

School board races (and school reform, in general) sure are expensive

$240,605 $41,470 $30,116 = an expensive school board race​The final tally of money raised in last November's contentious Denver Public Schools school board election is in. And according to Education News Colorado reporter Nancy Mitchell, that tally is "jaw-dropping." The three non-incumbe ... More >>

Three new DPS boardmembers talk charters

P.S. 1 didn't make the grade, but can anything replace Denver's longest-running charter school?

Read the reports that helped seal P.S. 1 Charter School's fate

P.S. 1 Charter School is in the Golden Triangle neighborhood​The evidence against P.S. 1 Charter School, the subject of this week's feature, "P.S. 1 Didn't Make the Grade, But Can Anything Replace Denver's Longest-running Charter School?," is harsh. Several reports from Denver Public Schools o ... More >>

Do Denver Public Schools' turnaround plans deserve an A?

Students at Denver Big Picture High School are part of DPS' big picture.​Denver Public Schools officials have suggested a series of plans to "turn around" the city's six lowest-performing schools. But before they approve the changes, they want to hear from the public. The Board of Education ... More >>

Baker’s Buzzin’

Time to Get Ill

Two parties benefiting arts organizations will delve into love and hate.

The Rest of Denver

The Rest of Denver

Journalist Who Made the Jump Has Landed

Life Skills Offers Last-Chance High

Justin Martinez was raised in the school of hard knocks, but Life Skills is his last hope for a diploma.

Fear Factor

In his first week running his new website, Brad Jones crashed a state representative. What will he do for an encore?

Sky's the Limit

Skyland Community High School faces renewal or revocation of its charter next week. It’s out to prove it can make the grade.

Community Watch

Excel Academy charter school wants a home, but neighbors say not on their range.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of August 28, 2003

Follow That Story

Score!

Reading, Writing and CSAP Scores

DPS's new literacy program is raising the bar -- but will it raise test scores?

Teacher's Pet Peeves

The state's new teacher incentive program has had unintended consequences.

Reading, Writing and Refrigerator Raids

Virtual schools are becoming a viable option for parents who prefer to keep their kids at home.

The Berating Game

As the controversy continues over Colorado's new report cards, Westword offers this handy guide for the perplexed.

Summer School

Four Denver schools plan to switch to a year-round schedule.

One for All

Charter schools are perfect for special-education kids. That's the problem.

Graded on a Curve

Neighbors of Jefferson Academy think the charter school could use a civics lesson.

The First Step

P.S.1's changing course leaves some people wondering what direction the charter school is taking.

SCHOOL'S OUT

WHY IS P.S. 1 THE ONLY NEW CHARTER SCHOOL TO SURVIVE? ASK DPS.

CHARTER MEMBERS

WHEN TWO DPS TEACHERS DECIDED TO OPEN A NEW SCHOOL, THEY DISCOVERED THEY HAD A LOT TO LEARN.

CLASS STRUGGLE

THE WINNERS AND LOSERS AFTER A YEAR OF THE CHARTER-SCHOOL LAW.